Second Chase
by ladyeiramae
Summary: It's their second chance in their little chase. Post-BALANCE: The Collision of Light and Dark.
1. Prologue: Memories of Another Past

**SECOND CHASE**

_It's a second chance in the form of their second chase. Isn't it amusing on how the same souls tend to bump to each other every lifetime?_

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own anything in this story and I do not make any money from this so please don't sue. Everyone and everything (HxH characters, etc...) is owned by Togashi Yoshihiro. Furthermore, whatever happens in the story will NEVER affect the original plot of the Anime/Manga.

I do own the entire twisted plot though. It is a product of having chicken pox and being isolated from the rest of the world for a month.

**WARNING: **Being set in an Alternate Universe, expect OOCness.

**REMINDER: **This is Post-BALANCE: The Collision of Light and Dark but you can read this even though you haven't read the prequel yet. Also, for those who have already read BALANCE, this is the sequel to its ALTERNATE ENDING, so there is totally no need to… err… uhm… panic? Or, kill me.

**Prologue**

_**Memories of Another Past **_

"Maybe next time I wouldn't be here dying on your arms…"

"Shut up! Just focus your Kou on the area while keeping your Ten up."

"Why b-bother?"

"I—You—Just… just stop talking… My Nen's not enough to stop the blood loss, so don't make things more difficult."

"We just fought, and you just killed me… technically. Why save me now?"

"Dammit, just—"

"Don't you want me dead?"

"NO! It's just you who wanted this. I-I should've… If I had known it will end up like this…"

"You're a very p-peculiar man…"

"Don't you dare close your eyes! Hold on… We're almost there."

"My eyes… Please don't take them."

"I won't take anything from you, just don't leave me…"

"I-I must…"

"I told you that you always leave your left rib open."

"W-why?"

"I thought you'll evade my attack; or cover up the opening at least."

"This is… the only way t-to end it."

"We could have been happy! Both of us!"

"I-I'll a-always hate you. But I can't kill you… I don't want to…"

"So you used me to kill you instead! I told you not to close your eyes! Dammit!"

"M-maybe next time… we'll b-be happy…"

"What are you saying? Hey!"

"Next t-time, you d-didn't kill my people… Or I don't w-want rev-revenge…"

"No… I don't need a next time!"

"Next t-time… We c-can freely live together …"

"NO!"

"A-and… I-I can love you without r-remorse… or guilt…"

"Please… No… Hold on. Please!"

"P-promise me… My eyes…"

"Ku—"

"Promise me!"

"I-I promise…"

"T-thank you."

"Don't close your eyes!"

"St-top running… please… body hurts…"

"All right. Now… I'm begging you… Hold on… I called your doctor friend. He's almost here…"

"N-no… I d-don't need anyone else…"

"That's non—"

"T-thank you… f-for everything… happiness… love… all…"

"W-wha…"

"See you… Next time…"

"NO! Please! No… Don't leave me! NO! Wake up! Dammit! Wake up!"

"G'd…"

"No no no no no… NOOO! Kurapika! Kurapika! Wake up! Please… Don't die! Kurapika!"

"…bye…"

"…I love you…"


	2. Generosity of Chance

**SECOND CHASE**

_Isn't it amusing on how the same souls tend to bump to each other every lifetime?_

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own anything in this story and I do not make any money from this so please don't sue. Everyone and everything (HxH characters, etc...) is owned by Togashi Yoshihiro. Furthermore, whatever happens in the story will NEVER affect the original plot of the Anime/Manga.

I do own the entire twisted plot though. It is a product of having chicken pox and being isolated from the rest of the world for a month.

**WARNING: **Being set in an Alternate Universe, expect OOCness.

**REMINDER: **This is Post-BALANCE: The Collision of Light and Dark but you can read this even though you haven't read the prequel yet. Also, for those who have already read BALANCE, this is the sequel to its ALTERNATE ENDING, so there is totally no need to… err… uhm… panic? Or, kill me.

**CHAPTER 1**

_**Generosity of Chance**_

The sun has not even reached the horizon and the sky was still a strong hue of indigo. A man, who looks as if he is barely of legal age, rolled for the hundredth time again on his large bed, barely avoiding the edge and ending up on the floor. He would have inwardly cursed for such a misfortune for never in his entire life had he encountered such a sleepless night. Well, technically he had, but this time, there is not even a single shred of reason for the cause of his current predicament.

With a remotely reluctant and irritated scratching of his head, the young man sat up from bed and let his hand crawl on the bedside table, clearly feeling up for the switch of the lamp. As soon as he reached it and switched it on, he started feeling up on which drawer he had put the book that he had been reading the previous night. Soon enough, he found the said book and had decided to efficiently bury his nose upon the text until the first rays of the morning hit his bedroom.

Unfortunately, even before his thoughts had drifted to the author's philosophies, his mind settled back on the voice in the dream that managed to keep him awake for five grueling hours.

'_I love you…_'

Familiarity could never be as lucid as when you hear your own voice speak.

Tilting his head to a side, and deeply contemplating upon the words as if those three are alien to his ears and his throat, he opened his mouth and uttered, "I love you."

He blinked a few times and was almost assured that he had not said such things, would not even dare to especially if his mischievous imp of a brother is around, when he decided to try a different approach in uttering the words. With a sigh and a soft grumbling of, "Why am I doing this?" and "I'm going to hit myself later…" to himself, he cleared his throat and started to pour in the emotion that seemed most appropriate for his voice to attain the quality of that in his dream.

"I love you…"

His ebony eyes widened and his heart seemed to curl into a ball as he felt a familiar overflow of emotions. His breath started to hitch and he felt as if his heart intended to escape right out of his ribcage. It took a matter of seconds before he was able to calm himself. He wiped the small beads of sweat that accumulated on his forehead and he was about to confirm his suspicion loudly when another voice – this time for real, interrupted him.

"I never knew you had a girlfriend."

"Loki," the man who would never admit that he jumped with surprise because of the sudden interruption replied calmly. Or as calm as he could, actually, "What are you doing here?" he added.

…which the other interpreted to himself as, "Cheeky bastard! I told you not to creep around the house like that!"

"It's first day of school on Monday so you have to fix my breakfast since we have to go to the principal for briefing and stuff," the boy replied with a smirk. "For my new school and your new job," he added.

"Alright," he merely uttered as he carefully remembered the page and slithered his way out of bed. "It's a miracle that you got up without me waking you."

"Heh, you're not the only one with initiative here, you see," the boy remarked smugly while wiggling his eyebrows. "Anyway, who's the chick?" the boy quickly added in a tone that plainly says, "There's really no use in changing the topic right now. Nope. You're caught."

"I beg your pardon?"

"I heard you practicing your sappy '_I love you_' confession," Loki said with a huge and mischievous grin. Afterwards, he started his own recital of "I love you's" in different tones, clearly making a false and highly exaggerated imitation of what the man had done earlier.

The man only chuckled at the smaller one's antics before speaking in a not-guilty-but-still-caught tone, "I heard myself in my dream and I thought that maybe I will find illumination if I imitated exactly what I said in it."

"Yeah, yeah," the boy commented as soon as he realized that the other may start a boring and, knowing his brother, lengthy discussion about it. "I want something sweet; peanut butter and jelly on toast perhaps… Erm, make it tons of peanut butter and jelly."

The man slowly shook his head and silently sighed in relief before ruffling the boy's silver mane then reaching out to the fridge to meet his demands before he gets restless. "Little brothers…" he mumbled to himself with a smile.

Well at least Loki dropped it.

"So, who's the chick in your dream?" Loki suddenly asked after fixing himself a glass of milk and propping a seat beside his older brother.

Is it a sin to dream of a quiet life?

"Honestly," the man started, sighing slightly as he carefully spread a generous amount of peanut butter over one side of the first bread. "I do not even remember who I was talking with."

"So, you're not even sure if it's a chick or some Chuck you're pining for?" the youngster said, leering, after a huge gulp of milk.

"No," the man honestly replied as he spread a thick layer of jelly on the other. Sighing will do him no good and it only adds to the other's bizarre suspicions. He just realized that a few seconds ago.

"Gabe, you need a date," Loki finally said after a few minutes of silence, dedicated to chewing and preparing coffee.

"I refuse to take part in one of your weird pastimes again little brother."

"I'll look for any hot teacher in school and make sure you meet them," the boy said, a hint of promise is present in his voice.

The man mentally groaned, "I believe I can look for a partner all by myself."

And if Loki insists on this, he has to do it fast. The last one the kid got him is quite pretty, yes, but he's not actually the type to hang out with bubbly, bouncy, not to mention a teeny bit bratty, pink-haired cadaver-hunters. So…

"OK, let's have a deal then," the boy said as soon as another sandwich was handed his way and his elder brother started for another one.

A deal? The kid actually knew how to play fair! Gabe actually thought that it's something new…

"What deal? And how many sandwiches?"

"Four! For now…" the boy practically squealed his reply and the man vaguely wondered on how much the kid needed to cork the black hole… "Anyway, deal is, if you don't find someone until the end of the month, you gotta date whoever I throw your way."

Another groan, and this time he failed to hide it. "And what makes you think that I will agree to this?" he said rather tiredly, as he noted the widening grin on his brother's lips.

"Well, because if you find yourself someone that'll last for more than a month… I'll do the dishes for the next month."

Ah. This little deal is starting to get promising.

"And the laundry?"

"Erm… OK fine. And the laundry…" the boy replied, muttering things to himself. "But if I win, you gotta buy me my whole two weeks' supply of chocolates WITHOUT deducting them to my allowance too."

"Deal then."

"Right, now where are those sandwiches?"

-x-

"See you… Next time…"

"NO! Please! No… Don't leave me! NO! Wake up! Dammit! Wake up!"

"G'd…"

"No no no no no… NOOO! Kurapika! Kurapika! Wake up! Please… Don't die! Kurapika!"

"…bye…"

'_Wait! Huh? That's not my name… I'm—'_

"I love you…"

'_You wha—? Who—_'

"Luce…"

'_Why did the voice suddenly change to—_'

"Hey, Luce? Luce? LUCE! Mamoru, c'mere man! He's not responding!"

"What? Move over, Salem… Argh! Darn it! Luce? Luce! Wake up! LUCE!"

"Wha—? Yeah, I got it… I got it… Uh, Mamoru, you're heavy."

"Uh… Yeah… Sorry dude."

After a few shuffling of fabric as a larger, and rather worried, figure got off a smaller one, bright aquamarine orbs blinked wildly as they took in the late morning sunshine seeping from the window. After a few seconds, the owner was able to take in the worried faces of his two housemates.

'_What just happened?_'

"You're moaning and squirming! That's one terrible nightmare you got there. I've been waking you for like ages now Luce. I-I thought…" one of the two, the one with sandy brown hair, explained, saving the youngest one the effort to ask the question loudly. His pale teal eyes are widening with concern.

"It's… O-of course, it's just a nightmare…" the aqua-eyed teen said, very much willing not to confess the reality of his dream-world to his two friends. Why? They might get weird ideas. "Maybe because I'm a bit tired… Yes, that's it—"

"Jetlag?" the other one, Japanese with dark eyes and long black hair tied down in a single braid to keep it in place, asked.

"Yeah…" the blond owner of the aquamarine orbs replied while yawning and stretching.

The Japanese man then threw something on the blonde's lap. "Breakfast," he said as he headed towards the door. "…leftovers from last night."

"Ah, thanks," the blonde replied gratefully as he took a bite on the burger after unwrapping it. "I guess there's no more time for me to cook," he added as he realized the time when he took notice of the clock beside his bed.

"It's no big… Coffee?" the brown-haired man asked as he too headed towards the door.

"Sure," the blonde replied. "I'll follow you in a sec."

As soon as he was all alone in his room, the blonde instantly recalled the dream. It was the same that he had been having for almost a week straight now.

'_See you… Next time…_'

Now he is damn sure that it was his voice that he heard.

'_I love you…_'

And the other voice was someone so familiar yet so foreign and he is a bit torn in between right now. The voice belongs to someone he knew…

"I wonder whose voice that was…"

…Or maybe not.

-x-

"How come that idiot dropped you off here at such a late date!" the older one, the Japanese named Mamoru, said as he propped a cigarette on his lips and eyed his brown-haired housemate for a light.

"Keir is busy," the blonde said, not sounding very much defensive of his guardian's name.

"With what? That pervert's never had anything better to do with his time."

"Or his money," the brown-haired one, Salem, added, looking smug.

The blonde chuckled lightly before sipping from his coffee, "I figured out that I'd rather not know."

"You better not; your young mind's gonna be polluted," Mamoru said after taking a long and satisfying drag from the cancer-stick. "And Salem and I're not gonna bleach it clean afterwards."

"Well, that's a thought," Salem commented as he poured more coffee for the three of them. He took one long look at the chaotic state of their living room before twitching an eyebrow, gulping, and after gathering enough courage, addressing the most delicate matter at hand right now. Taking all the guts that he currently has, he spoke, "Uhm, anyway, uh… Luce…"

"Yes, Salem? Is there anything that is puzzling your mind which I can help you with, my friend?"

Salem never liked that polite tone one bit.

"Well, you know Mamoru and I are not quite well off when you're kinda out of town, right?"

"Yes, I believe the two of you are not quite in good terms, or rather not very much acquainted, with our vacuum cleaner, feather dusters, brooms, dustpans and trash bins."

Mamoru, believing that he came from a long lineage of proud and hardy samurais, knew very well that his instinct's voice is forever golden and ought to be followed. And right now, hearing the dripping of sickly sweetness from his blonde friend's voice is never a good sign… or so his instinct says so. Therefore, even before things get "messy", he managed to crawl out of the room unnoticed.

"Well, you see… Mamoru, c'mon man, help me on th— Eh? Mamoru?"

"It seems like your partner left you all alone now, didn't he, Mr. Madoc?"

Salem was pretty sure that this is the perfect time to gulp and to wish that Mamoru's soul be burned in hell. "I-it's not really all my fault…"

"Clean. Up. NOW."

"Y-yes sir!" Salem could have saluted the younger one regally seated on the comfiest, not to mention least dusty, armchair in the living room as if it is a throne of some sort. Fortunately, the brown-haired man knew that if he does not want blood and guts on the living room floor and walls; his blood and guts, to be precise, he just have to submit to the youngster's orders.

'_Damn you Mamoru! You owe me big time for this!_'

"Step through that door and you'll see right through yourself Takeda," the blonde warned.

Salem snickered. '_Heh!_'

"I-I was just ya know… Baskin' on the sun?"

"You'll be basking on something warm and red if you don't grab the vacuum cleaner soon enough."

"A-ah… Right… Vacuum cleaner it is…" the Japanese said nervously as he sidestepped and almost stumbled on a lone wandering ottoman in search of the machine. He could not help but keep his eyes fixed on the blonde. Well, he is pretty sure that Luce would not really use the coffee mug to bore a hole through him or something. But the sweet smile accompanied by the promise of something nowhere near pleasant is just plain… creepy. Not to mention "highly motivating" in the very least.

"I'll go buy stuff from the grocery; the fridge is rather empty," Luce said as he delicately laid the empty mug down the coffee table and stood up from his "throne". "I'll be back in an hour or so," he said as he sauntered deftly off all the things strewn on the living room floor and towards the door.

As soon as the door clicked shut, the two remaining bachelors sighed in unison.

A little bit too soon.

The door clicked open again and the blonde's head popped to say one last warning, "The living room better look like one when I get back. Or else…" he said before the head disappeared and the door clicked shut once again.

Twin gulps echoed in the room.

-x-

"Gabe," Loki started, scratching a bit on his silver mane.

"Yes Loki?"

"I was thinking…"

"About what?"

There is a slight fidgeting on the seat next to him.

"Well, I kinda don't like takeout food for the rest of the day so…"

"Ah, you want me to cook right?"

A shy nod.

"Right, let's head off to the grocery then."

Dark blue eyes widened and brightened at him before white teeth were flashed cheekily and two fists were thrust in the air inside their car. "Yay!" the boy exclaimed before joyously reclining his back on his seat.

Gabriel chuckled as he ruffled his little brother's hair once again. '_Maybe_,' he thought. '_Just maybe… Living a normal life is just fine…_'

The meeting with the principal has gone incredibly well. It seems that Loki will finally want to stay in a school now like normal kids do and he found the principal rather jolly and every single bit likeable. The old man instructed them, well, Loki a lot more, about the school policies and as soon as the man got the response he wanted, moved on to give the list of the boy's classes, rooms and teachers. Afterwards, he drove towards the local high school (like crazy, as Loki said since they were almost late for the appointment), where he was given his own instructions as a new instructor by the principal, along with a list of who to talk to regarding "ifs and whatnots" before being given his schedule and class-lists. Of course, as politeness calls, there were a few more minutes of off-school chat and an exchange of assurances that things will be fine. After that, a meeting that went off incredibly smooth and short, they were finally left off.

In a few minutes of comfortable silence between brothers, Gabriel found his way on the parking lot of a local grocery. Loki had already hopped off the vehicle and on his side as he closed his door shut and with a "Beep" to lock the doors, they were off to shop for edible things.

"Tomato sauces! That way!" the silver-haired boy called out as he raced towards the part where he saw the mentioned items are stacked up.

He followed his brother, making sure that the cart he is currently pushing has ample distance from the boy, just in case the youngster halted instantaneously from running.

He couldn't risk breaking the cart now, could he?

As he was about to turn to a corner, there was a moment of pause which Gabriel certainly believes was his guts telling him that something big is going to happen.

After that very brief moment, one of the cart's wheels suddenly became stuck at a rather prominent crevice on the floor and was left at an odd angle; his cart is now occupying three quarters of the narrow space between two shelves of sauces and an inattentive cart-pusher can easily crash to his own cart.

Scratch that. It's "a very inattentive blond and aquamarine-eyed, not to mention quite attractive too" cart-pusher.

A loud crash and a muffled thump of his behind brought him back to his senses.

His heart skipped a beat.

"Whoa! I'm terribly sorry sir," the young blonde exclaimed apologetically as he scurried over to check if the other man was all right, seeing that one of their carts had tumbled and scattered all of its contents on the tiled floor. He then proceeded on hopping over everything and offering the raven-haired stranger aid to be on his feet.

"I'm really, really sorry! I must've zoned out… Are you OK?" the blonde asked worriedly after carefully dusting off the dirt from the man's impeccable black suit.

Ebony eyes suddenly perked up at the familiarity of the voice. Also, as he was helped up, somehow, his eyes became locked with a familiar pair of bright aquamarine orbs.

"Kurapika!"

-x-

**A/N:** Okay, for the first chapter… Uh… Guess who's who! XD The identities will be revealed on Chapter 2. AND yes, THERE IS A PRIZE for the FIRST ONE who correctly guessed who EVERYONE is in this chapter. Please include your answer on your review. Thanks!


	3. Unearthed Emotions

**SECOND CHASE**

_Isn't it amusing on how the same souls tend to bump to each other every lifetime?_

**DISCLAIMER: **I do not own anything in this story and I do not make any money from this so please don't sue. Everyone and everything (HxH characters, etc...) is owned by Togashi Yoshihiro. Furthermore, whatever happens in the story will NEVER affect the original plot of the Anime/Manga.

I do own the entire twisted plot though. It is a product of having chicken pox and being isolated from the rest of the world, virtual/cyber and not, for an entire month.

**WARNING: **Being set in an Alternate Universe, **expect OOCness.**

**REMINDER: **This is Post-BALANCE: The Collision of Light and Dark but you can read this even though you haven't read the prequel yet. Also, for those who have already read BALANCE, this is the sequel to its ALTERNATE ENDING, so there is totally no need to… err… uhm… panic? Or, kill me.

**CHAPTER 2**

_**Unearthed Emotions**_

'_Those eyes…_'

'_That voice…'_

"Kurapika!" he blurted out, not really knowing what he is saying.

"I beg your—"

'_Did I just call him—_'

'_Did he just call me—_'

"Gabriel!" a younger voice exclaimed, soon, he found his younger brother beside him, eyes wide at the mess. "What happened?"

"Uh," the blonde realized that he is staring—ogling actually, and decided to speak up, earning the attention of the silver-haired boy. "It's my entire fault, you see… I spaced out and my cart crashed against his. I'm terribly sorry," he said, smiling pleasantly albeit weakly.

"Ga—"

"No, it's all right," Gabriel interjected, raising an arm to cut his brother's words, which left Loki openmouthed and with an eyebrow higher than the other.

"My name is Gabriel Eventide," Gabriel added immediately and started the introductions, ignoring all the weird looks that his brother, are now throwing his way. "And this is my younger brother, Loki. It's a pleasure to meet you, despite the rather inconvenient manner of our first meeting," he said, offering a hand out to shake.

Luce genuinely believes that something is off. Well, besides the fact that these brothers in front of him look nothing like each other, aside from matching large and soulful eyes, though different in color, and pale alabaster skin. However, there is some sort of instantaneous warmth in his soul as he took a single glance at the younger one; as if some kind of familiar fondness had suddenly clicked in his brain. And upon gazing at the handsome face of the older Eventide, something way deeper tugged inside him.

"Ah yes, and I am Luce Aden, Mr. Eve—"

"Gabriel… or Gabe if you want," Gabriel instantly supplied while grinning widely, which earned him a jaw-drop from Loki.

It's not like Gabriel never grinned like that. But those are only reserved for gaining something virtually unattainable. Therefore, it is simply weird to see him like that in front of a complete stranger. Complete. Meaning: someone who had just literally bumped into them like five seconds ago. Yes, this is really weird, quite bordering on downright insane actually.

"Uhm, alright… Gabriel then," Luce replied, taking the hand offered to him and giving the man a friendly smile.

Gabriel practically swallowed the sudden urge to pull the stranger's hand. It was actually a weird and awkward thought. Why would he pull someone's hand? That's… not very Gabe-ish to do.

Instead, he only realized the sudden warmth it offered and decided to bask in it for a moment before quickly letting it go. It seems that his brother noticed anyway.

He was actually itching to dare Loki into pointing a few things out.

"Okaaaaay," Loki said, raising an eyebrow over the stranger and his brother's still joined hands.

Taking the cue and almost blushing, Luce immediately retracted his hand and opted to apologize for earlier instead. "Well, about earlier… I'm really sorry…"

"It's nothing, don't mind it," Gabriel consoled again. "Mis—"

"It's Mister," Luce suddenly interjected, putting more stress in the word than necessary. He seems not really inclined to hear any… mistakes with titles. "…Mr. Luce Aden."

"Ah ha ha. Yes, of course," the man sheepishly replied, scratching the back of his head slightly with embarrassment with his… misjudgment.

"It… happens," the blonde remarked with a half bark. _'…a lot'_

Gabriel smiled again and immediately gave Loki a look that according to Loki's built-in Gabe-ish Everyday Speech Dictionary, means, "I will really appreciate it if you will give us some time alone." Well, that was mostly it. It was simply a bit out of character and not so Gabe-ish that the man actually pleaded with his eyes while grinning widely, as if he just met the woman… err… man, he suppose… of his—

'_Wait! Oh…_' Loki realized and smirked while raising his hands to cradle the back of his head while he said, "I'll look for uh," he paused, thinking of an excuse. "Ah, sweets! Yeah… dessert and other stuff. See the two of ya later!" Somehow, he managed a quick wink towards his brother before disappearing from view.

Gabriel blinked uncharacteristically at that before he faced Luce again. "So, do you mind if I call you Luce?"

Finding the handle of his cart suddenly interesting, he replied, "No, not at all…" he then noticed the scattered items on the floor. "Oh, I'll help you with these," he said, bending down to pick things up.

Gabriel also noticed the state of his pushcart. "Why, thank you," he said, as he bent to pick some items too.

Now, it's time to get to business. He must start getting to know this "familiar stranger" a lot more. Well, somehow, he thought that it should be important to know if Luce drops by in this grocery often. It may even help in "not-so-predestined future encounters" since Luce seems to be an interesting fellow.

"Well, if you do not mind me asking, do you come by here a lot?"

"Well, yes, yes…" Luce replied, focusing his eyes and hands to the items. There is something terribly wrong with him and it must have something to do with the man in front of him. "You see, my house is not far from here."

Gabriel mildly smiled at the idea. The last thing he wanted right now is to sound and/or look, like a perverted maniac of a stalker. The term stalker is pretty scary enough. And it's not like love at first sight… No. That's totally not Gabriel Eventide. Attracted maybe… but…

…it's just something.

"Oh, ours too is just a short walk from here. We currently live at a house at Grytia Drive," he not-so-accidentally slipped out the information, as he inspected a box of oatmeal for damages.

Maybe Luce might want to drop by someday soon.

Hm. Maybe that's not a proper thought…

"Wow, what a coincidence…" Luce said, as he handed Gabriel a few packs of noodles. "I live there too."

Gabriel stopped for a moment, almost not believing in the coincidence.

"Well, I can offer you a drive to your house if you want," he politely offered with his most charming smile.

Something is telling him that this is the right thing to do. And it's not like Loki will dislike the company, right?

"Isn't that just too much, —err, Gabriel? I mean, we just met and I almost broke your back…"

"Ah, don't mind it. I barely felt the fall," Gabriel reassured him. "And Loki and I are still new to the neighborhood. We just moved in two days ago and this is the first time we actually got out of the house."

"I see," Luce said, mulling over the situation. Seeing that there is really nothing wrong with it, he agreed. "Then maybe I can offer you a tour on the neighborhood at least," the youth brightly suggested.

"That will be nice," Gabriel remarked as he pulled his pushcart off the crevice and towards a normal lane. "After you," he offered, letting the blonde and his pushcart move forwards in front of him.

"Thank you," Luce courteously replied. Well at least his new… uh… "neighbors" seem nice.

Feeling quite accomplished for an unknown reason, Gabriel stared contentedly at the back of the blonde's white jacket. Somehow, he feels that this set up is rather familiar.

Actually, everything about the blonde is like some sort of déjà vu.

"So, what do you do for a living, Gabriel?" Luce asked, feeling a bit awkward at the few moments of silence.

"I found a job as a teacher at the local high school," Gabriel replied as he pushed faster to reach the blonde's side as soon as they were in a wider lane.

"Ah, I presume Loki's going there too, right?" Luce asked. "Though he looks too young…"

Gabriel chuckled, "He'll be taller soon enough, if that's what you wanted to say. I was rather happy he made it in without any problems," Gabriel replied honestly. "How about you? By your looks, you seem barely off of high school, if not a high school student yourself. How old are you anyway?"

"Seventeen," Luce replied, turning to look at Gabriel with a smile. "And, well, I go at the local high school too. I'm in my senior year, to be precise."

"That's nice," the raven-haired man commented with a charming smile of his own. "I might get to meet you again there."

Luce chuckled at this while grabbing a crate of dozen eggs nearby. "Yeah… And I might have to call you Mr. Eventide too, of course. What subject will you be teaching anyway?"

"Literature," Gabriel replied with a shrug. "Not actually the most interesting one for youngsters these days."

"I love literature," the blonde said, slightly pouting as he took offense at the statement. He focused his pout at the vegetable stall.

The man only looked back at him and smiled. At least he knew a common denominator now.

Seeing the rather large amount of food items being piled in the younger one's pushcart, Gabriel asked, "I am simply wondering… You seem to pile quite a lot on your cart."

"Ah, well, I have to," Luce replied as he scrutinized the two sets of tomatoes that he is handling right now for the better pack. "My two housemates almost emptied the fridge."

"I see, well, I do not mean to offend or anything, but you seem to be the type to live alone," Gabriel said with a shrug as he continued to stare at the peaceful countenance of the other.

The youth laughed at the statement before admitting, "Before I came here two years ago, I used to live alone. Maybe the effect stuck."

Gabriel laughed with him for a short while before Luce said, "Well, these should be enough. Do you still have things to buy?"

"No, I have all that I need," the other replied. He then smiled at himself as soon as the blonde had turned his back.

-x-

Really, if he hadn't known any better, he'll say that Gabe had been hit by a truckload of Cupid's arrows.

Well, judging by the way Gabe is smiling like a mindless fool—OK that is an exaggeration… Gabe's just… just… acting plain… weird. Like… "Aaack!"-weird… Or something…

First of all, Gabriel Eventide does not go all friendly at strangers. He hates… no… loathes skin-contact with people (even with his own brother ), unless extremely necessary of course. And life-and-death situations may fall under this… sometimes…

As a matter of fact, last time he checked, Gabe dislocated someone's shoulder just because the man made a mistake of patting him to get his attention when he was not looking. That was totally… uh… accidental? Perhaps… Anyway, the point is Gabe never EVER initiates any skin-contact with anyone; handshakes included. Not even when he found Loki. Not even when dealing with clients from long ago. Not EVER!

Touch means death to the touched. It's an unspoken law that revolved in the narrow path that he and Gabe walked together for a long, long time.

"You'll touch only the target and make sure that ONLY the target dies." One cannot deny that no matter what, reduction of evidence is reduction of threat so they stuck to it.

And oh, he forgot to add Gabe's favorite tagline, "Try not to be messy." Yeah, he tried. Really. Proper angling to reduce "splatters" takes more math than he could ever imagine and he always admitted that he sucks in math. He could always try to be more "hands on" but he's still too young to have perfect control of his strength, or at least to have enough control not to make any "mess". Gabe's a pro though. He has to admit.

Until the said path was broken just a few years ago when Gabe decided that enough is enough. The chains that fettered them to the shadows of their pasts may be gone but the rule stuck. Actually, even though he had insisted that Gabe take a partner, never did the other EVER touch another person. It seems that his brother fear to break any more fragile human life unnecessarily that he took it to heart to not lay a finger to anyone else, quite literally so.

Of course, as a dutiful and rather grateful brother that he is, he made sure to encourage the man to initiate little actions. Unfortunately, he is constantly failing upon his efforts. Well, he never really knew what is off with his "bets" until Gabe points it out, but he knew he just have to be making progress… sort of…

BUT he knew better. And a truckload of Cupid's arrows might just as well try to melt into a puddle than hit someone like Gabriel Eventide.

So… Is this just for the bet that was thrown earlier today?

"Ah, I'm sure Loki wouldn't mind it if we drive you home, would you Loki?" Gabriel politely asked him, smiling with more teeth than necessary. Stepping back to Earth, Loki recognized the look as Gabriel's agree-to-this-and-I-won't-break-your-neck-look.

He never really figured out how Gabe manages to look incredibly polite and downright threatening at the same time.

"Of course I wouldn't! It's nice to meet new friends!" he immediately commented before restraining a couple of nervous laughs.

"That's really very nice of you," Luce said, smiling a serene smile that reminded the brothers of clouds and sweet drizzle after the drought, the pleasant tinkling of wind chimes and the dazzling tiny sparkles on earrings.

'_Earring…_'

"I'll be at the backseat then," Loki suggested as soon as he spotted the car on the parking lot. He immediately threw away the thought. He's not going to meddle on Gabe's business. Besides, he's too young to be involved, directly or indirectly, in this kind of sappiness.

Hopping at the backseat as soon as the 'Beep' was heard, Loki decided that if it's for the better, then he got Gabe's back on this one.

-x-

**A/N:** I was surprised that I never uploaded this one; it has been in my laptop for months now. Sorry for that.

And as promised, the naming line-up:

**Luce** **Aden** – (Kurapika); _Luce_ means "light" and _Aden_ means "fire" (Gaelic) or "delicate or dainty" (variant in English).

**Gabriel Eventide **– (Kuroro); hehe… I just thought that I'll give him a nice goody-two-shoes kind of name for a change. _Eventide_ means "evening".

**Loki** **Eventide **– (Killua); mischievous imp's name if you ask me. _Loki_ is a Norse God known for his mischievous ways. He is Gabriel's little brother.

**Justin** **Fang**– (Gon); _Justin_ means "righteous"; _Fang_ is a unisex Chinese name "fragrance" for females and "honest and upright" for males. Yes, Gon is part Chinese.

**Blaze** **Aldrich**– (Leorio); fit for his impulsive manner. He is Justin's uncle; _Aldrich_ means "noble ruler"

**Keir **– (Hisoka); _Keir_ means "black".

**Salem Madoc **– (Shalnark) _Salem_ means "peace"; _Madoc_ means "little fortunate one". He is one of Luce's roommates.

**Mamoru Takeda** – (Nobunaga) it makes sense that I give him a Japanese name, right? _Mamoru_ means "protector". Another roommate.


End file.
